Bird is the word for Swift Night Out

File/Gannett Wisconsin Media

The local Swift Night Out campaign is looking for people to help count chimney swifts roosting in the Green Bay area.

At 7 p.m. Saturday, volunteers will meet at the Neville Public Museum of Brown County parking lot to get their specific chimney assignment. The local count, now in its third year, is part of a continent-wide program intended to raise awareness about the declining bird species as it prepares to migrate to South America.

In the previous two years, volunteers have monitored nearly 90 sites in greater Green Bay, counting more than 1,000 swifts entering chimneys, where they roost for the night, said Nancy Nabak, co-chair of the local Swift Night Out with Jim Johnson.

One of the best spots to watch swifts do their acrobatic "falls'' into the chimneys at dusk is Aldo Leopold Community School, 622 Eliza St., Nabak said. More than 250 swifts have been spotted there on a single night. St. Norbert Abbey, 1016 N. Broadway, De Pere, is also a good viewing location, she said.

No birding experience is necessary to participate in Swift Night Out. Call (920) 655-4185 or email nnabak@sbcglobal.net if you're interested.